When Flames Rise
by VelocityTH
Summary: Flame Trail is the last pony of his race; as a Legendary Blazing Pegasi, he was born from the old altar of his ancients to guide and lead the poor village of Fallen. Attacked and destroyed by the Royal Order, Fallen begs for the help of somepony who can bring its people the glory they had in the past. In order to achieve success, Flame Trail must defeat the Princess of the Sun.
1. Planning - Chapter I

_Every story has a beginning, and sometimes that beginning may not be beautiful at all. In fact, some stories have horrifying beginnings, which would terrorize anypony just by reading the first paragraph of them; but in the end, the last chapter is concluded with harmony and peace. However, some other stories can begin beautifully, but in the end, hatred and fear shall be the responsible for the fate of the tale. The story I am about to tell you, is of a village hidden under the depths of the Everfree Forest, almost forgotten by those who live in nearby towns such as Ponyville. Fallen was once a big and prosperous village, the extension of its limits going incredibly far, and the market and political system there being almost perfect. It seemed that the ponies who lived there hadn't any kind of problem, except for their rulers, the two pony princesses known as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The Royal Order already knew about the potential of the village and they feared that Fallen would turn its back to Equestria and start a revolution, so the princesses did not recognize the village as an official town. The inhabitants of Fallen didn't listen to any Royal Orders and continued to expand, until they grew up almost as big as the size of a country, however, at this point the Royal Sisters were extremely angry. The princesses ordered their guards and soldiers to attack Fallen and turn the village into ruins, and so the Royal Order did. Regardless of knowing how strong the Royal Army was, the residents of Fallen did not leave their land and made a Resistance Army constituting of one hundred fighters. Despite the strong resistance and the advantage of the terrain, the forces of Fallen could not resist the mighty of the Royal Army, which made the village fall into defeat. After the departure of the Royal Forces from the destroyed village, there were survivors who tried to rebuild the damaged structures and carry on with their lives. They also made sure that Fallen could never be found again by planting trees all round the village to hide it from the sight of the Royal Princesses. The remaining villagers swore that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would taste what they had, and that one day, they'll wipe out the Royal Forces from the face of Equestria and establish a new government led by leaders, not tyrannical rulers. So, after this brief introduction, let our real tale begin. A black coated Pegasus with a fiery mane and tail was pacing back and forth while thinking about how to return Fallen to its former glory. His eyes were the color of flames and his Cutie Mark depicted an ancient rune; his name was Flame Trail._

It is about time for that so-called cake-eating ruler and her sister to get off of their throne; not only they caused this village an atrocious amount of damage, but they also hurt the heart of the ponies that lived peacefully in those woods, only wanting to make honest profit and live happily. These ponies were many and prosperous; they were almost the size of a country, but Celestia and Luna… Those Princesses had to appear in the front of innocent and hard-working villagers and mercilessly attack them, and for what? For security reasons? That I don't know, but she probably did this to other villages and I am pretty sure that she seized the ancient cities of Frozen Isle and Duskland.

_Flame's thoughts were making a whirlpool in his mind._

After several long years, the damage caused by Celestia and her sister was repaired by the remaining villagers who preferred to stay and build everything again. All of their wealth was gone; nothing was left except for their knowledge and wisdom. I have to admit that I was expecting everyone to leave, but they were stronger and didn't submit themselves to any "royal order". They resisted the attacks from the royal guards and staid at their homeland regardless of how powerful those guards were; that was a quite honorable decision and I won't let a good and so prosperous village go down just because it's one of the "Royal Sisters'" orders. I had been born from the Elder Altar especially to guide those ponies and bring back what they had in the past: Honor. I won't let their sacrifices go in vain.

_The fiery Pegasus remembered the early days when he first met the residents of Fallen._

I can still remember when I first met them; they wore confused looks on their faces as if they didn't know anything about the Elder Altar nor about the history behind the Legendary Blazing Pegasus. It was really unexpected, the village holds an Elder Altar, and still those ponies don't seem to know anything about it. However, I think it's mostly because of fear and uncertainness, they probably decided that it was for the best to forget about the Altar, since they had already enough trouble with the Princesses. Even after my mentor, Sparkling Ruby told them that there wasn't anything to worry about and that I wasn't an enemy, they still guarded their unsure thoughts to themselves.

By the way they tell the story of the village; it seems that the Princesses didn't have mercy on them; as far as I know, Celestia and Luna just dumped their "royal anger" on them and ordered them to leave. Those "royal sisters" thought firmly that they had the right to do whatever they wanted to. They destroyed and ruined the many lives of the ponies around this village and because of that; this nice and peaceful community has got a bad reputation to travelers. Nice and peaceful, but formerly attacked and turned into pieces. But the most sad and intriguing thing, is that Princess Luna actually doesn't seem to be truly supporting the actions of her sister, she is rather forced to do what the Princess of the Sun wants or else, she would be declared a traitor and banished again.

I always knew that Celestia isn't as sweet as what she truly is. She masks her tyranny with "kindness" and faked words, and when a threat appears she just sit on her throne and watch the entire land of Equestria rumble in panic. Where was she when Nightmare Moon returned? What was she doing while Discord unleashed his chaos? These are only small questions that I want answered, the real question is: If she is the most powerful being in Equestria, why can't she use her power for something good instead of ruining prosperous villages or taking immature decisions?

But what truly worries me is that one does not simply defeat Celestia. I have no idea on how I am actually going to defeat her; I guess I'll need to do a research about counter spells or find a magical item that could help me to fight against her. I once read a book that focused in describing and telling histories about the Elder Altar here in Fallen, and after a few pages that flew by, I found a passage that said: "A gift waits for the one who had born in the flames of the Elder". I think that the passage can be referring to the "Injury of Fire", an ancient amulet that has the capacity of conjuring a protective spell. I am not sure if this is just a myth about my ancestors, or if it's indeed the truth; furthermore, the book I read also said that the one who had born in the flames of the elder has to become a "full-grown" pony before receiving the gift. I am already an adult so I guess it is time to end this mystery since I know that there is no other "born-in-the-flames" kind of pony around here, except me.

But however, before I go to the Altar, I think I need to practice my fire manipulation skills, something tells me that the Altar will test me before giving me that "gift". I'm not a Unicorn, but I can still use flame spells thanks to the nature of the Legendary Blazing Pegasus. Because of that, I have been studying and practicing those kinds of spells since I was young, and surprisingly, I got to the Advanced Level very quickly. With such knowledge and a quest to join, I think it's more than clear that it's time to go out for some practicing before facing whatever is inside the Elder Altar, and I think I know the right pony to train with. If I do remember, my ex-colleague Ariston have mastered the same spell casting level as I and maybe he will be pleased to train with me. Since he's a Unicorn, he might know more about fire manipulation spells than anyone else around here and after all, I studied with him, I think he is willing to give me a hoof.

_As the fiery Pegasus finished his thinking process, he trotted out of his "House Temple" located near the villagers' houses to begin the search for the Unicorn called Ariston. However, Flame Trail only knew that Ariston's house had a Watermill as a reference and didn't know exactly where it was. Trusting his instincts, Flame Trail looked around the village and spotted a house which seemed to be the only one that had a Watermill besides it. Thanking heavens and as quick as possible, he began galloping towards the supposed residence of the Unicorn whilst thinking about the gift that the altar was supposed to hold inside itself. Upon approaching the house, Flame Trail knocked on the door expecting Ariston to open for him but instead, an unknown mare did it. She was an Unicorn with a light lime green coat and light beige mane and tail, her eyes were like her mane and tail and her Cutie Mark was a closed book with a feather on it. While starring at the mare he took a deep breath and said:_

**Flame Trail: **Is Ariston home?

**Unknown: **Yes, he is! Do you want to talk with him?

**Flame Trail: **Yes please, can you ask him to come here?

**Unknown: **Sure, I'll call him. And by the way, if you want to know, my name is Olive Tyler.

**Flame Trail: **It's nice to meet you Olive, are you Ariston's relative?

**Olive Tyler: **Nope, I am just his assistant. I help him on his experiments and he helps me on writing Spell Books. If you are interested, you can test a spell that I made just for training with Ariston, I am pretty sure it will work fine with you; after all, you're a special pony!

**Flame Trail: **Training is exactly what I need right now and… Hey, how do you know about that?

**Olive Tyler: **Ariston always mentions you while we're crafting spells.

**Flame Trail: **Fine, I will give it a try, just call Ariston and we shall begin our training.

_The mare, happy about meeting Flame Trail, seemed that she wanted to know more about his abilities as a Pegasus who can manipulate fire. She hoofed Flame Trail a book that had a strange symbol on its cover._

**Olive Tyler: **Good! Hey Ariston! Your Pegasus friend is waiting for you down here!

_After Olive had spoken that, a silver coated Unicorn with brown mane, tail, and eyes and who had a staff as a Cutie Mark rushed downstairs to meet Flame Trail._

**Ariston: **Oh, hey there mate! How are you going?

**Flame Trail: **Fine, and you?

**Ariston: **More than fine! I'm very glad that you came to visit me as I don't usually get too many visitants, only my assistant comes to help me with my experiments.

**Flame Trail: **Good to know, now listen, I need to put my skills with fire manipulation to the test and train them before going to the Elder Altar, as I am going to investigate it. I know that the Altar will not merely let anyone step on its sacred floor, I need to be ready, and so I thought I could train with you before going there. Only, of course, if you want to, I don't want to make you feel obligated to.

**Ariston: **No problem! I was just reading a book, I think I can finish it later, just let me get my scrolls and we'll get started!

**Flame Trail: **Oh, I almost forgot.

**Ariston: **What?

**Flame Trail: **Is there any problem if we use this Spell Book? It's one of your assistant's works. She said that she's pretty sure that it'll work fine with me.

_Surprised at the sight of the book, Ariston wondered why his assistant would hide it from him. Olive, just standing besides them, watched as they discussed about the training with a smile on her face._

**Ariston: **Well, why not? I didn't know about this book until now, but is unlikely that something wrong is going to happen if we use it; Olive is a very talented spell writer after all.

**Flame Trail: **Thanks, now can we get started?

**Ariston: **OK… Oh, mind if I ask you a question?

**Flame Trail: **What question?

**Ariston: **I always wondered what these things embracing your hooves are.

**Flame Trail: **Oh, you mean the "Bonding Chains"? I had been born with them; it's almost as if someone wanted me to wear them when I came to life. It's a characteristic that belongs exclusively to the Legendary Blazing Pegasus, is what gives us the fire manipulation power. They cannot be removed; they are like a part of us.

**Ariston: **I never heard of an artifact that cannot be removed from the owner except for the Alicorn Amulet, but that's enough information already; let's go to the training field!

**Flame Trail: **Let us burn ourselves then.

_End of Chapter I_

**A/N:** **It's almost impossible to believe that I'm writing a fan fiction. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of When Flames Rise. Please, leave a comment or a suggestion below so I can use it to improve my story and make it look better. I mean... If that's okay with you. Also, don't forget to keep things clean when you leave your comment, I know I may not satisfy all of you guys, but that's not a reason to insult or bash someone's work. Criticism, however, is always welcomed. That being said, until next chapter!**


	2. Training - Chapter II

As I finished speaking, Ariston gestured for me to follow him onto the training grounds that appeared to be behind his residence. There are rumors that Ariston is the only one in Fallen who mastered the most advanced fire manipulation spells. Maybe it's because of his burning passion for learning, considering that it is too difficult to get past the beginner level. He's also a very smart Unicorn, as I remember the little fillies trying to get him into one of their groups with the intention of getting a perfect score in their tests. I can remember the days when we used to work together, we were considered the "pyros".

_Arriving at the training grounds, Ariston turned to Flame Trail and after cleaning his throat, he said:_

**Ariston:** Welcome to the training grounds where I do practice my fire controlling techniques and other kinds of spell!

He said that in an almost ludicrous way, showing me the training grounds where he usually practices his abilities. I didn't know whether he was trying to look great or to make himself lose the title of brilliant student.

**Flame Trail: **Quite… Impressive, I never saw anything like this before, since I kept studying and learning at my House Temple. I hadn't seen much of the outside since I decided to keep in there acquiring knowledge and learning about Equestria. It was not often when I would go out to do something; after all, I didn't have friends. The ponies around here are afraid of me.

**Ariston: **That's definitely sad, but you should come out more often, after all you're losing the opportunity to see an outstanding world before your eyes. Even if Celestia took our glory away, we still live in a beautiful forest.

"Celestia"… The name filled with tyranny and violence. Her reckless attitudes and course of action will be her downfall, and once she's down, Equestria will be a better place. The name of this arrogant ruler just doesn't stop of echoing into my mind.

**Ariston: **Uh, Flamie, are you alright?

**Flame Trail: **Oh, pardon me, I was… Wait, what did you just call me?

**Ariston: **I thought it was okay calling you Flamie.

**Flame Trail: **Just call me Flame instead of "Flamie". That's uncomfortable for me.

**Ariston: **Well, I apologize for that Flame, but regardless of how I call you, it seems that you are really determined about putting an end to Celestia.

**Flame Trail: **Of course, I've been studying on how I could do that, but unfortunately, my chances are slim. I couldn't win a battle against the sun princess alone, she's way much stronger than I and would banish me to the moon if I lost. So I wanted to investigate the Elder Altar for some sort of "instructions" on how I could improve my powers or increase them. I've read about a "gift" the Altar holds, so I wanted to search its insides and see if I could get anything from it. But before that, I needed training in order to face whatever lies beyond its structures and so, here I am.

**Ariston: **If you want, I could join you on your quest. I know a few things about the Princess that if I spoke them on her front; she would cut off my tongue.

**Flame Trail: **I appreciate your help. I needed someone to cover me while I'm fighting. And as far as I know, you're a great spell caster, so I think you'd be a good aid for me.

**Ariston:** Thank you for allowing me to be your sidekick. But, let's not waste anymore time, we need to do our training! Get ready, here comes my first move!

_Ariston instantly teleported himself in the middle of the training field and sent out a quick fire ball towards Flame Trail's direction. With a quicker move, Flame manages to avoid the attack by jumping and dashing in the direction of the silver Unicorn. _

**Flame Trail: **You should know that I'm not as slow as you think.

**Ariston: **I was just warming up. Things get harder from now on!

_Knowing that there was more to come from Ariston, Flame Trail got into a defensive position and began to slowly walk around the Unicorn to prevent himself from getting hit by an unexpected attack. After completing his analysis, Flame then focused his sight and sent out a flaming arrow straight at the Unicorn. Ariston manages to successfully avoid the attack, however, in a fraction of a second, the arrow turned around and followed the Unicorn, leaving him surprised. Ariston again tried to avoid the arrow but unfortunately, his left hind leg got struck by it._

**Ariston: **Ugh… I didn't expect that kind of attack. I used be excellent at dodging homing arrows.

**Flame Trail: **You should also know that I always got an A+ at the archery classes.

**Ariston: **Eh, I know that. But you have yet to see my true speed!

_Not wasting time, Ariston quickly spell-casted three fiery orbs and began rotating them around him until they were at high speed. Then, without hesitation, the Unicorn launched the three orbs at the Pegasus in an attempt to put his reflexes at their extreme. Flame Trail managed to avoid two of them, but when he tried to dodge the third, the orb suddenly became slower confusing the Pegasus and prompting him to get hit on his right wing. Nevertheless, Flame Trail didn't seem to be hurt._

**Flame Trail: **Whoa, this would have hurt if I were a common pony. You might not be as slow as I thought. But, if you think you are quicker than me, then keep dreaming.

_After recovering his composure, Flame Trail began trotting towards Ariston. Once the Pegasus got nearby him, the Unicorn tried to catch him with a grasping spell and don't let the fiery colt just deliver another attack on him. Nonetheless, Flame jumped with perfect precision and sent a flying kick against Ariston's back. The silver Unicorn fell down while Flame Trail flawlessly landed on the ground._

**Flame Trail: **Is this your "true speed"? I thought I'd have been caught the moment I jumped on the air but, you seem to forget about timing your moves.

_The Unicorn then used a healing spell to recover from the previous attack._

**Ariston: **Argh… I guess I'm not that fast. I just, wait… How couldn't my fiery orb hurt you?

**Flame Trail: **I should have told you that I can't be burned by flames. All I felt was a small tickle on my wing.

**Ariston: **But, if you can't get hurt by fire, then why can't you defeat the scorching sunlight of Celestia?

**Flame Trail: **Because it's light, and I can't control it. But let us keep focused, shall we?

_Deeply concentrated, Flame Trail creates a flaming disk and sends towards the silvery pony's direction. Seeing the new movement, Ariston projected a shield which disintegrated along with the flaming disk when that came colliding with the Unicorn's defensive spell._

**Flame Trail: **Let's see if you can protect yourself against this one.

_Flame Trail began to concentrate again and this time, he concentrated his energy on his tail, which seemed to be glowing. He took a few steps forward and swung his tail, making a slash of fire to come out of it and go in the Unicorn's direction. Ariston tried to defend himself again, but this time not only his protection spell would be gone, but he also would be pushed backwards with a huge pressure that would make him fall onto the ground once again. Flame Trail approached the fallen ex-colleague as he suggested something._

**Flame Trail: **I think this is enough training for me. I guess is time to test out the manipulation spell that your assistant gave to me.

_Brushing the dust off of his coat, the Unicorn got up and said._

**Ariston: **Ugh, I think I'll have to improve my defensive skills. But regardless of that, please, don't try to use all of your power in that spell. We're not sure about what could happen. Despite the fact that my assistant's works are trustworthy, something bad still could happen, so be careful OK?

**Flame Trail: **Don't worry, I got this. Now get up, I need to finish you off!

**Ariston: **What? No! This way I'm going to be dead!

**Flame Trail: **I was just kidding… Anyways, do you have testing dummies?

**Ariston: **Of course! Let me pick them for you, stay here!

_After that being spoken, Ariston went into a shed that was next to the back of his house to search for his testing dummies. Minutes afterwards, the Unicorn finally appeared with his dummies and trotting back to the training grounds where Flame Trail was patiently waiting for his return. Ariston was holding the "puppets" with his magical grasp._

**Ariston: **Here they are! Just let me put them on the center of the training field, so you can have a better sight to cast the spell.

While Ariston was putting the dummies on their places at the middle of the field, I began to read the spell book and see how I could use it. It contained lots of images and texts revolving around a fire manipulation spell that's called "Fire Vortex". It wasn't long when I found out that the book was in a strange language, but that didn't matter because I surprisingly could read it anyways. When I finished reading the main part of the book, Ariston told me that he was done with the dummies, which were in the perfect spot for testing this kind of spell. I also noticed that you have to say a strange word in order for the spell to work.

**Flame Trail: **I'm ready. Let's do this?

**Ariston: **Yeah! Just let me get out of your way!

**Flame Trail: **Alright, this book says that the spell requires the energy emanating from your deep to flow through your hooves. It also states that I have to stretch out my hooves in the direction of the desired place that I want the spell casted in. I got it, let's get this started!

I then began to concentrate energy on my hooves also pointing them out towards the testing dummies. I felt the energy moving inside of me, and I tried to focus even more to accumulate enough for the spell, after all, I didn't want anything bad to happen. When I had accumulated enough energy, I focused on where I wished the "Fire Vortex" to be projected: in the middle of the dummies. Afterwards, I took a deep breath and said: "fι гε_ V_א"! In a matter of seconds, the testing dummies were being sucked by what seemed like a "whirlpool of fire", making those dummies to turn into charcoal.

**Ariston: **Nicely done mate! Everything went good! I think you're now proud about the new skill that you've just mastered.

**Flame Trail: **Yeah, whatever, I don't take pride on what I accomplish… I just hope I'm ready to enter the Elder Altar now. Let us rest and then think about what we're going to do about it.

**Ariston: **Of course! That training almost killed me and I'm starting to get hungry. Come, follow me and I'll get us some food. You also seem exhausted.

**Flame Trail: **Sure, I didn't eat anything since morning, let's eat something then.

_End of Chapter II_

**A/N: Whoa, I didn't expect to upload the second chapter in time, but YES! I did it! Also, I'll be using a fictional language for my story, so expect to see a lot of "weird" symbols.** **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, leave some feedback so I can use it to improve my fan fiction. As I already said, criticism is always welcome, just keep it clean. That being said, I'll see you next time!**


	3. Discussing - Chapter III

p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"The training was over; Ariston, Flame, and Olive were inside the silver unicorn's house having a conversation about the story of the rather mystical altars. They stayed there, also discussing about the legend of the blazing pegasi while eating some daisy sandwiches./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Well, Flame. After seeing your combat abilities, there are no doubts left regarding you. That training proved that you're more than ready to enter the Elder Altar. However, before you do so, I have some stuff that I'd like to ask you first. I know that you probably already have the answer but, you know exactly what an Elder Altar is, don't you?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Of course I do. They were built to hold the power of the Legendary Blazing Pegasi on a certain place to prevent it to fade away from the land of Equestria. I can sense and feel the magic whenever I come nearby the Altar./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Yes, and you know that there isn't only one, right? You sure know that there are two more Elder Altars in this country./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Yeah. Frozen Isle and Duskland have their own respective altar. But, knowing that I already know all that stuff, why would you ask?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Because what I'm about to tell you what your books didn't. The altars aren't there just for holding the power of the elder. What they really hold is a forbidden knowledge passed from generation to generation in the hope that one day someone will give continuity to it. However, the "someone" can't just be anyone, because it'd be too easy to obtain this knowledge. The "someone" must be a "relative" of the Elder Altar, or more specifically, a Legendary Blazing Pegasus. This "someone" must also learn the "three fire codes", which are a set of three books containing a very specific manipulation spell in each one of them. Each book is in each village that has an altar, meaning they're in Fallen, Frozen Isle and Duskland. Moreover, it is said that when you learn the spell inside one of those books, the altar correspondent to the book will then accept the presence of the Legendary Blazing Pegasus. The books almost work as a password and only the ones related in blood or birth to the Elder Altars will be able to learn the content of those three books./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"Suddenly, Ariston's assistant appeared before the two long term friends. She looked a bit anxious as if wanting to say something. And she did./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive Tyler: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"That is why I gave you that book Flame. That book wasn't actually one of my works, it was instead one of those "fire codes" and you succeed in learning it! That book was passed down to me by my family and when my parents told me to protect it with all my strength, I didn't let anyone touch or even see it. That is also why I put a protective spell on that book; to prevent it from falling onto the hooves of the wrong pony. Only a Legendary Blazing Pegasus like you would be able to open it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive, why couldn't you tell me about the book? You know you can trust me!/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive Tyler: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Because you'd grow your eyes on it and make numerous experiments that would certainly bring an end to it. And in anyways, only a pony like Flame Trail would be able to read the content since it is written in a restricted and banned language. My studies point out that it's written in Old Volcanic. I never had much time to study the language deeply since I was busy making and preparing the protection spell, but it is said that the language was first spoken inside of a volcano. Isn't that quite interesting?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"In a matter of seconds, something flashed through Flame's mind. A group of strange hooded ponies were inside a volcano practicing what it looked like a ritual. The vision appeared and disappeared so quickly that Flame Trail could barely tell what he just saw./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame, are you OK? You seemed frozen for a moment./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I'm alright. I was just "daydreaming". I don't know why, but when Olive said the word "volcano", my mind instantly showed me something./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail, putting his hooves on his head, tried to shake the thought of his little reverie out of his mind./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I hope you're not having one of those headaches that you used to have when we were young. By the way, congratulations on your acquired spell! I guess Fallen's Elder Altar will accept your presence now./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"It sure will, because I don't want to get disappointed. However, there is still something stuck in my head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US" What is it?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"It's about the "Injury of Fire". It is told as an amulet with the ability to conjure a flame cloak. I've learned that a flame cloak it's a very efficient manipulation spell that can protect the manipulator from attacks of different elements, such as light. Any magical attack that originates from an element (such as light) will be "theoretically" consumed by the cloak, increasing the power of the amulet in the process. That's why I want to have it, because it will protect me from the dangerous light of Celestia and it will help me to defeat her. That's the reason for why I need to collect more information regarding the amulet; do you by chance know anything about it?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Yeah. I sure know lots of things regarding it. Just let me grab something./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"Ariston reached for a chest on his right and picked up a painting depicting an amulet. The amulet had a black base and a silver trim adorning a fiery gem. It had chains to hold the artifact around the neck of the user. Ariston showed the picture to Flame Trail, who looked perplexed./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I think the amulet that you're looking for is this one. I've made this when I was still at school. My teachers always talked about the "Injury of Fire" describing its features, so I painted this to remember them. I also remember hearing they say that the Injury of Fire is being held inside the Elder Altar, but only a Legendary Blazing Pegasus would be able to take hold of it. They stated that if somepony else touched the artifact, he or she would suffer until death. That spread rumors that the amulet is "cursed"./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail became intrigued and eager to know what more Ariston had of information./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I wasn't expecting you to paint it. And how did your teachers knew such things about the amulet?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"The teachers told me that during the discovery of the altar, the amulet revealed itself before the explorers and then sank deeply into the shrine. Before it could disappear from sight, the ponies could clearly see its features and because of that, they wrote everything they could and then passed the information ahead. Thanks to our ancestors, we can at least know what the amulet looked like. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Amazing, and by the way, I like your painting. You've got some talent./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"This is nothing compared to the replica I made myself! If you want to see it, just look up!/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Curious, I looked above my head to see that there was an amulet, or at least, a replica of an amulet which was tied to a large decoration on the ceiling of the house. It was quite impressive and looked far better than the one in the painting that Ariston showed me before./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"That's some fine work you got there. I like art a lot, and you should also know that I enjoy drawing on my free time; however, I'm always too busy studying at my House Temple that I simply can't seem to have a lot of spare time. But, when I do have "breaks", I often go outside and draw the beautiful of Fallen into a good looking piece of art. Unfortunately as I said, I don't have a lot of time to spend on those things; being someone like me is being full of several tasks to accomplish./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I always knew you liked this stuff and it's a pity that you are such a busy one./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"As I finished my conversation with Ariston, I noticed that Olive was surprisingly still there in the same room we were next to the stairs that led to the second floor, as if waiting for something to happen. I decided to ask her something./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Hey Olive, would you like to come with us to the Elder Altar?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive Tyler: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I don't know, but I guess I'd be of some help./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Good. Ariston, you are OK with that?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I'm ready for anything. But why don't we visit the altar tomorrow? I'm kind of sleepy and outside there is just blackness. The night has finally arrived./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"I didn't intend to but I ended up spending a lot of time at Ariston's house. When I looked through the windows, all I could see was the dark of the night./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Well, I won't force you to go with me at night. And also, being a "legend" doesn't mean that you don't get tired, so I better go back to my house and hit the hay./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Why don't you sleep here and we go all together to the altar in the morning?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"That sounds like a good idea. But you wouldn't mind if I slept in your house, would you?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Of course I wouldn't! You are and will always be welcome here./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive Tyler: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"You can surely trust that! We'll always be open for you Flame./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Well, I don't want to be some sort of "blood-sucking" friend, so I might as well offer to sleep on the couch./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Ariston: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Don't be ridiculous! I have an empty guest room so it won't be necessary for any of us to sleep on the couch. The bedrooms are on the second floor; Olive will sure be glad to show your room, just follow her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive Tyler: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Certainly! Please, come with me Flame./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Okay then, if you say so./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"Olive turned around and gestured for Flame Trail to follow her. Flame began trotting towards Olive wondering what kind of guest room that would be. As he followed her up a spiral staircase, Flame noticed the details of that particular part of the house; the walls were decorated with perfectly aligned paintings and the floor covered in a red fabric. After bringing Flame Trail to the second floor, the lime coated mare trotted towards a door to the left, gently opened it using her magic, and then gestured for the Pegasus to go inside. Not wasting time, Flame trotted over to the mare and then into the room, followed by her. He was amazed by the sight of the room; he liked how things were organized there./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Well, this is where you're staying tonight Flame! I hope you enjoy the bed; I make it very comfy for guests so that they can have a nice sleep! If you need anything else, just call me!/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"Thank you for your generosity, Olive. I really appreciate it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Olive: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"No problem! That's why I'm here for! Have a good night Flame!/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"As Olive finished, the Pegasus smoothly entered the bed as well as trying to get into a suitable position to become asleep. While Flame was attempting to have the promised comfortableness, Olive trotted to outside the room and then closed its door before going to her own respective room. After finding himself satisfied, Flame then sank into the pillow and began thinking about what he should do after arriving at the Elder Altar./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US"Flame Trail: /span/strongspan lang="EN-US"I hope I'm prepared for whatever the altar hides. I guess it won't go easy on us./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;  
line-height:115%;font-family:Times New Romanmso-bidi-language:AR-SA"End of Chapter III/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"A/N:/spanspan lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;" /spanspan lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"Woot! Chapter III is done and here! Gosh, it sure did took a lot of time of reviewing, but the results were quite satisfactory. I know you guys are crazy for "action", but before I make it happen, the tale needs to be told, or the awesome parts won't make sense at all. It's like if you pick up a movie and cut off the story from it. I'd also like to have some feedback on my story as I previously said. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Until next time!/span/strong/p 


	4. Remembering - Chapter IV

_The morning cast its first beams as birds began their singing routine. The few ponies who inhabited Fallen started to trot out of their homes to carry on with their daily lives. One specific pony however, kept inside his bed, already awaken but wondering what kind of mission or quest he was about to embark on._

**Flame Trail: **I absolutely have no idea about what the Elder Altar hides and it certainly won't be easy to retrieve whatever is inside that building. But I won't let difficult take the best of me, after all, I am not the kind of pony that backs down.

_While anxious about getting into the Elder Altar, Flame felt both determination and courage running through his veins igniting his heart and lifting up his spirits. As he felt the energy circulating inside his body, the Pegasus remembered the times when he was just an isolated individual and an "alien" to other ponies. Many of those ponies would fear to come nearby him and often times even cross the street whenever they spotted the fiery colt. The only ones who cared about him were his teachers, the ones who taught Flame to become a stallion moved by wisdom and logic, and not by emotions and illusions such as friendship._

**Flame Trail: **I can still remember… My first day at school…

- Fallen, 7 years ago -

_The wind blew through the beautiful forest that surrounded the small and quite peaceful village of Fallen. Many critters were on their daily basis, such as gathering food and building nests, and as those creatures carried on, two ponies trotted over the rather "dormant" village. They appeared to be taking some sort of tour._

**Unknown: **And that's where you should buy materials for your experiments and projects.

_Said an old dark-grey coated unicorn with black straight short mane and tail. His red eyes were the kind of thing that made him a remarkable pony. As he spoke, a juvenile Pegasus who was at his side listened to every single word with attention._

**Flame Trail: **I'll keep that in mind… Oh, and by the way, thank you for showing me the village. The ponies around here don't even have "guts" to talk to me.

**Unknown: **That's why I'm here. But let's leave the thanking for another time; we're almost late for your first day at school.

**Flame Trail: **Do I really have to go? Why can't I learn from my house?

**Unknown: **Listen Flame, I know you might dislike the ones around here, but you need to go to school. It's not like the same thing as reading a book, you got to practice and put the theories out of the paper! Besides, more isolation could give you additional problems. You don't want to end up like an obsessed psychotic reader, do you?

**Flame Trail: **I guess so… If that's for the best, then let's not waste any more time. I can't learn everything all by myself anyways… What's not to like about having colleagues?

**Unknown: **I'm so glad that you are cooperative, Flame. Many foals would escape from school at the first opportunity they get. Now please, follow me and we'll get there as quick as possible.

**Flame Trail: **I am already following you, sir.

**Unknown: **Good. Let's go that way, into the forest.

_As the unicorn said, both he and the little Pegasus began trotting towards the wide forest that lay just ahead of them. While ambling through the woods, the two ponies discussed along the way about their future and their objectives in life._

**Unknown: **Well, allow me recount you something about me, Flame. I had been for so long the top of the excellent scholars in magic back at my academy. The experiments I conducted were way too complicated for "common" unicorns to understand. The spells some labeled as "hard" were as clear as crystal to me. Knowing about my potential, the subjects nopony cared about turned to be my priority, after all, I wanted to test my limits. I then began searching for a spell that no one has ever pulled off, and that's when I came across a book about "resurrection and life after death". When I first read it, I knew it, I had to cast the spell of resurrection and bring a dead one back to life. Unfortunately, the instructions for the spell included gathering extremely rare materials that you'd be lucky to find a sample of them. I started to pick up the ingredients from the extensive list the book had, but I never could finish gathering everything I needed. I never gave up nonetheless; even now when I'm an aged individual I still continue my search for the limited ingredients. I know that it is a difficult task, but I won't just forget about it until I complete the spell.

**Flame Trail: **That's worth striving for. I always wondered why you regularly travelled to far away cities and locations. I hope that you can fulfill your dreams and finally accomplish your goals. A dead pony returning to life would be something amazing to see.

**Unknown: **I appreciate your support, my little pony. But the one who truly needs a hoof on his shoulder is you, Flame Trail. You just don't know it yet, but you'll play an important role on our destinies. Likewise, you also don't know about the power that has been given to you.

**Flame Trail: **What role? Don't tell me you're gonna force me to pursue a politician's career. And most importantly, what kind of power are you talking about?

**Unknown: **That is why, Flame, we send our children to schools; so they can learn about their abilities and know which path to take in their adult lives. The schools don't teach us only about ordinary Math neither about events from the past, but they also focus in our own discovery, which is something we should seek alone. Oh, and speaking of that, we've just arrived.

_As the greyish unicorn finished his rather "motivational" speech, he pointed out a hoof towards what appeared to be a way out of the dense forest. Upon approaching the exit, both of the wandering ponies saw a large building made up with cobblestone and wood planks. On the top of the construction there was a black flag containing an orange feather in the center. As the old unicorn and the young Pegasus trotted out of the forest and then in the direction of the supposed school, the elder pony reached for a saddlebag he was carrying since his little "expedition" with Flame Trail on Fallen and picked up a black leather hood, wearing it as quick as possible. After successfully putting it on, he reached for the saddlebag again to close it._

**Flame Trail: **May I ask you why is that you're wearing that hood?

**Unknown: **It's a long story; better not waste our time with it.

**Flame Trail: **If you say so…

_The two came to a stop before entering the aforesaid building to see a large metal board nailed above the main entrance of the construction, now confirmed as a school as the two ponies read "School of Legends" on the sign._

**Unknown: **This is it, Flame. Stick with me and I'll introduce the school and your teachers. They'll be pleased to have you as their student, since they used to be my colleagues.

**Flame Trail: **Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?

**Unknown: **Sure it is! Now let's head inside, we have plenty to see and talk about today.

_As the two entered the school, both of them saw three ponies coming along the main hall; all of them shared the same color scheme as the old unicorn beside the little foal, except for their eyes, which were colored differently from each other. As for a matter of race, all of them were unicorns._

**Unknown 2: **Good morning, Sparkling Ruby.

_Said a mare whose eyes were as purple as an amethyst and her mane and tail combed in a "spiral-like" manner._

**Sparkling Ruby: **Good morning, Spiral Amethyst. I'm glad to see you again. I'm here to introduce you to your newest student, Flame Trail.

**Spiral Amethyst: **So, this is the one you've been talking about for months. I'm pleased to have you as my student, Flame Trail. I shall teach you a lot about magic from now on!

**Flame Trail: **Excuse me, but I don't know why you all keep talking about magic to a freaking Pegasus. I can't use magic in the first place!

**Spiral Amethyst: **Soon enough, you'll know what I'm talking about, little one. For now, meet your other teachers!

_As the mare concluded, she pointed a hoof at a mare that was standing just a step from her. The eyes of this other mare were a deep blue along with her mane and tail being long and straight. In addition, she was wearing glasses._

**Spiral Amethyst: **This is your history teacher, Shining Sapphire.

**Shining Sapphire: **It is nice to meet you and I hope I'll be able to expand your knowledge on the Equestrian History. Here at the School of Legends, we got to visit a historical place every month!

**Flame Trail: **I am looking forward to it! I sure like history a lot.

_As the young Pegasus ended his sentence, Spiral Amethyst pointed to another pony right next to her. In contrast to the previous teachers, this pony was a stallion and seemed to have the same age of Sparkling Ruby. His eyes were a bright green and his mane and tail similar to that of Sparkling's._

**Spiral Amethyst: **And this is your Chemistry Teacher, Stunning Emerald.

**Stunning Emerald: **It's a pleasure to meet you. Maybe I'll teach you how to make an invisibility potion someday!

**Flame Trail: **That would be something fascinating.

_As the young one said, he noticed that all the teachers were using the same hood as Sparkling Ruby. This prompted the little colt to connect fragments and come to a conclusion._

**Flame Trail: **Sparkling, you are a teacher too, aren't you?

**Sparkling Ruby: **Not quite the kind of teacher you'd expect. I do work here, that's why I am needed to wear this hood, but I'm a different type of teacher, one who teaches ponies about things revolving around themselves rather than a unique and independent subject. This might sound ridiculous and in a way "nonsensical", but I'm the responsible for you until you develop yourself and become a full-grown pony. I not only intend to protect you, but I'm far more concerned about revealing your true self.

**Flame Trail: **Don't worry, Mr. Ruby. I'm able to defend myself even if you think I can't.

**Sparkling Ruby: **You might have an extraordinary power inside you, Flame. But I'm afraid that defending yourself isn't something you may wish to do now, since your full potential remains locked. Besides, your body is still of a child's, you're far too weak to face combat.

**Flame Trail: **My "full potential"? What kind of potential are you talking about?

**Sparkling Ruby: **Patience, little one. The truth shall be revealed in due time. Now, I want you to follow Spiral Amethyst, she'll present to you your magic classroom. You wouldn't want to miss your first lesson, would you?

**Flame Trail: **Fine then, I guess I'll have to wait until my questions are thoroughly answered.

**Spiral Amethyst: **Don't bother yourself with that, Flame. You just don't know how sooner your queries will be properly replied. Now, I may ask for you to come with me, I need to show you your lecture room.

_As the mare finished, the little Pegasus nodded in response and began following the purple-eyed unicorn. As he trotted, the idea of the introduction being planned for him passed by his mind, however, he didn't resent at the thought. Both the unicorn and the young Pegasus kept on trotting through the hall until they reached a corridor. The mare slowly turned her head to the younger pony and calmly gestured for him to keep on following her. After they passed by four doors, the teacher came to a break at the one located nearby the end of the corridor, the little one still accompanying the unicorn. A sign above the door read: "Magic"._

**Spiral Amethyst: **This is it, Flame. We've arrived at the magic classroom. Your first lesson is about to begin; you got to go inside and find a seat! Don't feel ashamed, just do it quickly!

_As the mare ended, a purple aura surrounded both her horn and the door handle located next to her. Using her magic, the unicorn opened the door and told Flame Trail to enter the classroom. Not wasting a single second, the youthful colt trotted into the room and quickly began his search for an available seat. Fortunately for him, the class was only "half-filled" leaving lots of unoccupied chairs and reducing the pain that it was the first day at school. As fast as possible, the Pegasus chose a seat beside the windows and waited for the teacher to come in. Spiral Amethyst, who was still outside, in advance entered the classroom greeting her students._

**Spiral Amethyst: **Good morning, everypony! As you may have noticed, you have a new colleague. Please, welcome Flame Trail to our class!

_As Spiral spoke, the mare pointed a hoof at the little Pegasus while the other students attempted to say a collective "welcome". Afterwards, the entire class fell into silence; perhaps trying to figure out what was a Pegasus doing in a school of unicorns._

**Spiral Amethyst: **Good everypony! Now please, pay attention to me while I introduce you to our new subject for our studies.

_The mare finishing her sentence concentrated her magic on the tip of her horn and made a fireball appear. After a few moments or so, she used the flames from the orb to draw a phoenix into the air._

**Spiral Amethyst: **This is what you're going to learn during this semester.

_With a quick move, the teacher retracted her magic making both the fireball and the phoenix disappear._

**Spiral Amethyst: **Fire manipulation, that is.

_The class remained quiet while paying attention as Mrs. Amethyst explained the concepts of manipulative spells of fire._

**Spiral Amethyst: **Those kinds of spells were originally made by a group of ponies called "The Legendary Blazing Pegasi". Although they were from the Pegasus race, they could use magic thanks to pact made previously with an ancient powerful entity known only as "the flare". Upon being granted such power, those ponies not only were allowed to use magic, but as well as being able to speak in a language that has never had been spoken before. However, in exchange for that power, they were cursed having their bodies, with the exception of their reproductive organs, turned into the ones of a mare. This was a curse that covered the name "Pegasus" with shame, prompting the authorities to decide that it was for the best to forbid relationships with the Legendary Blazing Pegasi and isolate them. They were definitely afraid of being punished by being linked with pegasi that practiced magic. It wasn't long before nopony could ever find a Legendary Blazing Pegasus again; they seemed to have vanished from Equestria. It's said that the same entity who gave their powers believed it was certainly a good option to shorten their life-span so they couldn't abuse their potential. But, year after year, ponies began discovering descendants and even pure-blooded blazing pegasi, disproving many superstitions regarding them. There is a lot of history on them, but that you'll learn with Shining Sapphire. Now, make groups and I shall begin to teach you how to perform a basic fire manipulation spell.

_After Spiral's small speech, every student in the classroom began forming the desired groups of the teacher's request. Everypony with the exception of a particular one had entered in a group. This exception being the young Pegasus, who sat almost glued to the windows nearby him. The teacher trotted over to the rather unamused colt to check what was supposedly bothering him._

**Spiral Amethyst: **What's the matter with you, Flame? Don't you want to join a group?

**Flame Trail: **No, it's just that I'm the only Pegasus here. Just look around. They are all unicorns and they'll probably exclude me from their circle. Also, when one of them dropped a quill next to me, he picked it up in a hurried manner and pulled his table to the other side. They fear me.

**Spiral Amethyst: **Don't say that! You need to brush off the uncertainty from you and put yourself together! And never mind my students, you can learn with me.

**Flame Trail: **OK, whatever. I don't even like to make friends anyways.

**Spiral Amethyst: **Oh, and you shouldn't, Flame! You must know that friendship is considered by many to be nothing but an illusion! Always keep that in mind when something like this happens. Putting that beside us, shall we begin our lesson?

**Flame Trail: **Yes, ma'am.

_As the young Pegasus ended, Spiral began lecturing the little one on how to perform a manipulative spell. As he paid attention to his teacher, something in his mind kept telling him that this was about to be a long day._

_End of Chapter IV_

**A/N: This chapter sure gave me some work to do. I hope you guys enjoy it! Next chapter I promise that I'll bring the canon characters into "action"!**


	5. Walking - Chapter V

**IMPORTANT: **I've decided to make an "alternate" Twilight Sparkle for this fan fiction. If you were one of those who shouted out loud "Thanks, M.A. Larson!" in frustration and sarcasm, then you'll love this replacement. I also added a slight personality change on top of that, along with new stuff such as an alternate house and a slightly modified Spike. But don't worry! I'm not one of those writers who add tons of nonsense into their fictions.

_It was around three o' clock, the sun was high in the sky above Ponyville, and ponies were outside doing their daily chores, such as buying things they needed or studying at school. Speaking of studying, a purple mare could be seen reading a book titled "Crafting & Fixing for Bookworms" inside of a cafe. It was unusual for ponies to drop by the restaurant to read a book, but the ponies around there didn't seem to care one bit about that. After having finished reading the seemingly interesting title, the mare or more specifically, unicorn closed the book with her magic and called out a waiter requesting the exact amount of bits she owed to the cafe. After seeing that the purple one had only asked for a cup of tea, the waiter politely replied to the mare._

**Waiter: **It was just a cup of tea, ma'am. Meaning you've got to pay one bit only.

**Twilight Sparkle: **Thank you. Here, I want you to have an extra bit.

**Waiter: **I appreciate it, but I can't take the best of you.

**Twilight Sparkle: **Oh, I insist! Consider it a gift from me.

**Waiter: **If that's the case, then I'll take it. Have a nice day Mrs. Sparkle.

**Twilight Sparkle: **I wish the same for you!

_The mare was quite known around there for her famous passion for books. After ending her sentence, the purple unicorn trotted towards the cashier to drop a golden coin which ponies called "bits" over the counter before returning to pick up her book with her magic and leave the building. Twilight looked down, took a deep breath and sighed._

**Twilight Sparkle: **Each day that passes by brings feelings of unimportance and uselessness. Soon enough I won't have any purpose here in Ponyville. It's not often that I get visitors back at my library, but when I do, it's just some little filly wanting a book for ordinary homework or a source for school researches. No one ever cares about the great tales that are in my possession, neither can they see that I have the most extensive collection of books on history and spell craft in all of Equestria! They just ask for a book and then leave. I feel miserable.

_As the purple unicorn lifted up her head, she thought to herself._

**Twilight Sparkle: **Well, if my memory doesn't fail me there's nothing left to do, so I guess I'll have a walk in one of my favorite places around here. I believe that Spike can certainly handle some "unexpected costumers" all by himself.

_Twilight knew exactly where she'd go. The White Tail Woods was a place fit for those who wanted to have a great time in one of the most beautiful forests around the world. The woods were mostly popular because of its charming fall-like scenery, and Twilight knew it deep in her heart that there wasn't anything better than a peaceful walk through a forest whilst observing the leaves fly into the air and fall onto the rocky ground. Better yet if it was afternoon, the time when the sun would shine through the trees implementing what was already good. With no further wait, the mare trotted towards the edge of the town and then in the direction of the elegant "pathway". During her little travel, Twilight Sparkle remembered the time when she was appointed as the best student of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; at the same time that she felt important, she felt as if her title didn't mean anything. After concluding her studies, the mare was sent to Ponyville by Celestia herself to assist the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, which made the unicorn both happy and disappointed. She always has dreamed of leaving Canterlot after finishing school to become an expert in advanced magic and maybe one day, outshine Starswirl the Bearded. However, the summer festival was something that the purple-smart also appreciated; she just couldn't handle the fact that she was needed in order for the ceremony to happen. She felt pressured at that time._

**Twilight Sparkle: **It turns out that the previous Summer Sun Celebration was in fact Celestia's tool to gather the Elements of Harmony once again. I shouldn't be accusing my mentor, but she isn't that "great" as many see her. She almost forced all that "friendship" stuff down my throat, but in the end I've found people that I wanted to be around of, nonetheless. Only one thing still bugs me to this day; where was she when Nightmare Moon returned?

_The mare tried to find a good reason for the sudden disappearance of the solar princess, but nothing could or seemed to match the pieces together._

**Twilight Sparkle: **Then there is the time when we re-imprisoned Discord. Why couldn't she and Luna defend Equestria from the chaotic plans of the draconequus?

_As many thoughts swirled around the unicorn's mind, the mare came to a stop once she noticed that she had arrived at the woods. It's was time for some "brain-cleaning"._

**Twilight Sparkle: **The forest is still beautiful as usual. I don't want to do anything else but dive into this magnificent looking landscape. I need to relax a little bit sometimes and what better way to do that?

_As the purple-smart trotted into the immense forest, the breeze of the air blew against her mane and the sun shone on her face. It was indeed, beautiful scenery, one that could hypnotize anypony who took the sight of the woods and drive him or her into a state of pure joy and contentment._

**Twilight Sparkle: **Look at all those leaves soaring in the air. They remind me of the days of autumn back at Canterlot; the city would be covered with fronds. It was hard to clean them up, but it was a nice thing to see, nevertheless.

_As the unicorn dug into her childhood, Twilight gently grabbed the book from previously with her magic and quickly began to read it again. The mare couldn't help but give in to her book addiction. She just loved to flip through the pages and extract every word from a book; it was her hobby, her devotion._

**Twilight Sparkle: **"Creating your own gems takes simple materials such as magmatic dust, natural dyers (it is recommended to use powder-like dyers) and some polished rocks. The procedure to make gems is quite easy and it only requires a few steps to be taken. First, pick up a-

_As Twilight read the book, she heard a "thud" near a tree to her right. She didn't mind, since she knew that it could have been just a dried branch falling from an old tree, it sounded like that. She shrugged that off her mind and continued to read._

**Twilight Sparkle: **"First, pick up a bowl and fill it with the magmatic dust. Then, add your dyer to the powder and stir it up until both substances are well combined into one. After that-

_This time, the mare heard a quiet (almost inaudible) whispering to her left. Instantly scared, the unicorn shot a small beam of magic in the direction of the aforementioned susurration just to be safe. When a squirrel came out from the nearby bushes, the purple one felt relieved and continued on her path._

**Twilight Sparkle: **I really need to chill out. I'm getting a little bit paranoid these days. Anyways, "after that, pick up the polished rocks and add them to the mixture. In advance, you must use the spell '004' from the elemental guide located on page thirty-seven of this book in order to fuse the rocks with the dust-like substance you've made and melt them together. Finally, pick up the liquefied material with your magic and shape it the way you like it, but be fast enough to pull out the spell '003' so the gem will freeze and become solid. After following all these steps-

_The unicorn stopped abruptly after catching the glimpse of a shadow in the corner of her eye. She turned around to see that there was a strange black mist moving right behind her, seemingly aggressive and eager to catch Twilight. Worriedly, the mare began to run as fast as she could in the hope that she'd escape from whatever that "cloud" was._

**Twilight Sparkle: **What the hay is that?

_Between pants and more pants, the mare tried to rush to the end of the forest only to see that the black mist had completely covered her surroundings, making it hard to see where the exit was._

**Twilight Sparkle: **What do you want from me? Leave me alone!

**Unknown: **G… O… G… E… T… I… T…

**Twilight Sparkle: **What do you mean? Get what?

**Unknown: **G… O… G… E… T… I… T…

_With that, the dark cloud opened a path towards a big tree. The entity then repeated again._

**Unknown: **G… O… G… E… T… I… T…

**Twilight Sparkle: **Okay…

_Twilight didn't know what to do, but attacking this entity certainly wasn't a good option since she didn't know who or what it was, so she went through the path the mist had displayed. Upon approaching the large tree, the unicorn noticed something on the ground near the roots of said structure._

**Twilight Sparkle: **What's this? It looks like some sort of book.

_A strange looking book was on the ground. Knowing how much she cared for books, Twilight quickly picked up the book and almost instantly the black mist vanished from sight._

**Twilight Sparkle: **What in Equestria was that? And what kind of book is this? It doesn't seem like anything I've seen before. The colors on it are somewhat frightening and I can't open it either. I think I should head back to my library and take care of it. Perhaps I should send a letter to Princess Celestia regarding this "encounter".

_After gathering the strange "artifact", the unicorn look straight ahead to see that the exit was visible again. Not wanting to be in the woods anymore, Twilight trotted on the way out of the forest. Upon getting away from the White Tail Woods, the purple mare sighed and thought to herself._

**Twilight Sparkle: **I can't even take a walk while not getting into trouble. Well, at least that made my day a bit interesting. I bet that whatever it was, the black mist wanted this book protected from harm. Still… I believe that some experiments won't do any "evil" to it, will they?

_Twilight was a mare known for her eagerness on learning new stuff. If there's some sort of obstacle on the way of "science", she'd do anything to get it out of the path. However, the unicorn just didn't know how much dangerous that book was and what her rather "clumsy" experiments would bring her. The mare didn't think twice and headed back to her house and library thinking about what was behind the cover of the book._

**Twilight Sparkle: **I should be ashamed of myself, but I just can't stand back while I've got an opportunity to improve my knowledge! I want to be the smartest unicorn that has ever lived and I certainly won't miss a piece of information! However, I can't deny that studying a creepy looking book could be dangerous, mainly due to the possibilities of it being linked to black magic or stuff like that; so as smart as I am, I'll be twice as safe.I don't want a creature from Tartarus destroying my library anyways.

_End of Chapter V_

**A/N: A little bit late but nonetheless, here it is! Please, if it's not too much for you guys, I'd like some feedback on this chapter as well as on the others. I'm not one hundred percent sure if I corrected all the mistakes and issues or if the story is doing great, so if it isn't asking too much, I'd appreciate a lot if you give me a hand. Although it is my responsibility to maintain this fan fiction, I am not perfect and I can "slip" sometimes too.**


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